This leaflet highlights the nutritional and socio-economic potential of shea
butter tree and provides information to assist those working with the species.
The focus is on conserving genetic diversity and promoting sustainable use of
shea butter tree. The leaflet presents a synthesis of current knowledge about
the species. The recommendations provided should be regarded as a starting
point, to be further developed according to local or regional conditions. These
guidelines will be updated as new information becomes available.

Geographical distribution
The shea butter tree is native to West Africa and
was first described by Mungo Park in 1796 in the
Ségou region of Mali. It ranges from Senegal to
Uganda and is localized between the latitudes 9°
and 14°N in West Africa, 7° and 12° N in central
Africa and 2° and 8° in East Africa. This zone
corresponds to wetter central and southern parts
of dry countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali and
Niger and the drier northern part of wetter
countries (Benin, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire,
Ghana, Nigeria, Togo and Uganda).

Distribution
range
of shea butter tree

medicine. It is used for frying and in sauces, for
medicinal applications, in lanterns and in
ceremonies, such as for births, weddings
and funerals. Good quality butter can be sold
in international markets. It is estimated that
at least 150 000 tonnes of kernels for butter
extraction are consumed annually.

02

People living in the semi-arid zone of sub-Saharan
Africa have traditionally used shea butter in large
quantities. The butter is used in cooking and as

Shea butter has important therapeutic
properties, particularly for the skin. It provides
protection from ultra-violet (UV) radiation and
has moisturizing, regenerative and anti-wrinkle
properties. It is also used in personal care
products, such as pomades, soaps and
pharmaceuticals.
The pulp is consumed by people of all ages,
especially during the rainy season when fruit
ripens (May–September). During this period,
cereal crops are in short supply in the villages and
the pulp of shea fruit becomes a staple food. The
pulp is used to make beverages and jam, which
are much appreciated in Mali and Burkina Faso.

Ecology and biology
The shea butter tree is found in wet and dry
savannahs where annual rainfall amounts to
between 400 mm and 1500 mm. It is adapted
to a wide variety of environmental conditions.
It can be found in plains and mountains. It
forms fairly pure stands in the Sudanian
savannahs in association with other species
such as false shea (Lophira lanceolata), esemi

Exports of shea butter have increased
dramatically in the past 25 years, largely due
to increased demand for vegetable fat from
developed countries, where shea butter is now
commonly used in the production of cocoa butter
equivalents or improvers, other confectionaries
and margarines. However, the pharmaceutical
market uses as much as 5–10% of total African
exports, and the cosmeticindustryisan increasing
outlet.
Differentindustrieshave differentrequirements
for shea butter. The cosmetic industry requires
softer butter, while the chocolate industry uses
hard butter to compensate for softer cocoa butter
or the addition of milk fat. The antioxidant activity
of phenolic compounds is an important
characteristic of shea butter for the cosmetics
industry. Butter characteristics are under both
genetic and environmental control. For example,

the overall concentration ofphenoliccompounds
in shea kernels may be linked to the level of
environmental stress in the source population,
with the highest phenolic concentrations
occurring in shea trees at the upper and lower
temperature limits of the species. Processing
conditions can also affect the content and quality
of fatty acids present in the butter.
Chemical analysis of shea butter from four
African countries (Uganda, Burkina Faso, Mali,
Nigeria and Uganda) found considerable
differences between countries. The Ugandan
sample had a 59% oleic acid content compared
with only 39% for that from Burkina Faso. Malian
shea butter closely resembles cocoa butter while
Ugandan shea butter has more similarities with
olive oil. This variability suggests that shea oil
from different regions could be targeted towards
different niche markets or industrial uses.

(Terminalia macroptera and Terminalia avicennioides) and African locust bean (Parkia
biglobosa). It is commonly associated with
agroforestry systems and benefits from the
close care given to it by farmers in the fields.
The tree grows to a height of 10-20 m with
parasol, pyramidal or globular shape. The
cylindrical trunk of mature trees measures 30-80
cm in diameter. The fruit consist of a berry
comprising a nutritious pulp that surrounds a
relatively large nut containing an oil-rich kernel
from which the shea butter is extracted.
Shea butter tree has two subspecies—nilotica
from East Africa and paradoxa from West Africa—
which are differentiated by morphological characters such as flower size.

Shea butter trees lose their leaves during
the dry season, from November to March.
Flowering occurs during the dry season,
from November to April. New leaves appear
immediately after flowering. Fruit ripens
from March to August and harvesting is
mainly from April to September.

Related species
Vitellaria is considered a monospecific genus,
hence the shea butter tree has no related
species.

Morphological traits
and their variation
The leaves are simple and oblong. When young,
they are reddish or greenish and slightly hairy
underneath. The hairiness disappears completely
in mature leaves in the majority of West African
morphotypeswhile itisconserved in morphotypes
from Benin and East Africa.
A study on morphological variation in 41
populations found variation in all tree size, leaf

and fruit characteristics measured, although it
was not possible to separate genetic from
environmental variation. Results indicated
that variation was higher within populations
than among populations, as would be expected
when variability caused by environmental
conditions is included in the within population
proportion.
The largest trees are found in northern, drier
areas. Trees in the wetter zones of the west of
the range have the longest leaves and the
largest nuts.
Descriptors for Shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa)
have been developed by IPGRI (now Bioversity
International) and INIA. See a basic list of
minimum discriminating descriptors on this
leaflet, pages 10-11.

Genetic diversity is low compared with other
tropical trees. Quantitative traits measured
on one-year-old seedlings are more variable
within populations than among populations,
but they showed a greater degree of interpopulation differentiation than molecular
markers, providing evidence for the influence
of selection on genotypic values. Variation in
traits was not correlated with environmental
variables, meaning that there is not clear
evidence for adaptation to different levels of
rainfall, for example.
Trees growing in fields have been found to be
more diverse than those growing in forests or on
fallows. Despite the influence ofhuman activityon
the life cycle of shea butter trees growing in
parkland systems, the impact on genetic
variation appears to be minor, probably due
to extensive gene flow between unmanaged
and managed populations.
In spite of high gene flow between
neighbouring populations, there are distinct
differences between populations at the eastern
and western ends of the species range.

Local practices
Fruit ripens during the rainy season, when
women are very busy in the fields cultivating

food crops or cotton. As a result, women and
children harvest the fruit early in the morning
and after cooking the meal at noon or even at
night. Fruit may be stored in holes in the ground,
but this reduces the quality of the butter that can
be made from them. Therefore people try to
process the fruits immediately after harvesting
them, removing the pulp from the nuts.
Men and women prefer trees with different
characteristics, reflecting the division of labour
between them. Men prefer healthy trees with
low competitive effects on crops, large sweet
fruit, fast growth and resistance to mistletoe.
Most women prefer trees that give a high butter
yield. In general, trees with consistent year-toyear yields, sweet pulp and high fat contents
are considered ideal. The fat content of large
kernels is very low. Women usually prefer small,
compact seeds because they get a higher
return to their labour extracting butter.
Numerous ethnic groups regard the shea
butter tree as sacred, and the species occupies
an important place in numerous cultural and
religious ceremonies. Gender-related rules and
management practices are observed. For
example, fruit is harvested by women and
children but trees and lands are considered
to belong to the men.

Human pressures—including cutting trees
for firewood, burning savannahs and bushland
and clearing forest for agriculture—and drought
are the main threats to the species. Regeneration
is hampered in agricultural areas, especially
where cultivation is mechanized. The shea
butter tree is most threatened in areas where
cotton is grown.
Strong winds at the beginning of the rainy
season in March and April can destroy flowers
and even topple trees, especially when root
systems have been weakened by successive
droughts. If climate change results in reduced
rainfall, the destructive impact of strong
winds may worsen in the future.

Pollination and reproductive success are
reported to be very low; reduced pollinator
activity is considered to be a key factor. High
temperature and smoke reduce bees’ activity,
and periods of hot weather and late bush fires in
March and Aprilare blamed for reducing pollination
and consequently affecting fruit production.
In the parklands, shea butter trees are
mostly old (80 to 100 years on average), and
hence fruit production is declining. Parasites
of the genus Tapinanthus and wood-boring
beetles weaken the trees over time and reduce
fruit production.

The shea butter tree appears to be protected by
the forest laws in most of the countries in the
speciesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; natural range. Despite this protection,
the trees are cut in parklands, for example when
clearing land for cotton cultivation and
harvesting wood for charcoal. Consequently,
the number of trees in the parklands is declining
year after year.
Government extension services working on
environment preservation, in particular in the
Sahel region, encourage farmers to protect and
to stimulate natural tree regeneration. Young
trees are identified and marked, and are protected from grazing, tillage and fire. Protecting
natural regeneration allows enrichment of
parklands. In comparison to tree planting, it is
technically easy to apply and reproduce; it is also
relatively low cost and requires little community
organization.
Traditionally protected areas such as sacred
groves exist in many villages, allowing seedlings
to establish and grow. The shea butter tree is
reported to be found in at least one national
park in Benin.
The seed of the shea butter tree is considered
recalcitrant, and hence cannot be stored for more
than a few weeks using conventional methods.

Nursery grown seedlings at the Sotuba Research Station
(Bamako, Mali)

08

ÂŠ H. SANOU

Conservation status

Wild shea butter tree seedling grafted
using the side cleft method

Management
and improvement
Shea butter trees have probably been under
traditional management for centuries, and are
widelygrown on cultivated landsand in parklands.
The traditional parkland farming system
consists of alternating cycles of cultivation and
bush fallows. Natural regeneration of woody
plants occurs around established trees in fallows.
The shea butter tree is rarely planted and most
individuals result from natural regeneration.
Farmers actively select specific trees when
woodland is cleared for cultivation, based
primarily on fruit productivity and their likely
competitive effects on annual crops (determined
by crown size, leaf density and spacing). Criteria
for selection of immature trees are based on
spacing, health and growth rate. In agroforestry
systems, farmers maintain a balance between
crop and tree productivity. Unwanted mature
trees are usually killed by girdling and are
allowed to dry before being cut for household
uses (poles, mortar and charcoal).
Differences are observed in size class
distribution and spatial patterns between forest,
field and fallow. Forest trees are usually smaller

than those found in fields and fallows because
competition is much greater in the forest than in
fields or fallows. Trees are more scattered in
fields than in forests or fallows as a result of
thinning and reduction of regeneration by
human intervention.
Trees are sometimes pruned to increase
fruit production, reduce shading of crops or
to harvest wood, fruit or leaves. Agricultural
practices have a noticeable impact on flowering
phenology. The shea butter tree flowers more
abundantly in cultivated fields than in forests or
fallows. Human activities also influence fruit
parameters: the size (length and width) and
the average kernel yield is higher from trees
located in agroforestry parklands (around 4
kg/tree) than from trees in natural forests (1.5
kg/tree). Fruit production is very irregular;
girdling can be used to increase uniformity
but it may have detrimental effects on the
health of trees.
Shea butter trees can regenerate in fields and
fallows by coppicing to allow regrowth of bushy
shoots. This method is used for fuel wood and
construction wood.

Propagation from seed
Farmers generally do not plant shea butter tree,
hence there is little local experience in seedling
production. The seed is recalcitrant, hence cannot
be stored using normal methods. Germination
rate decreases considerably after three weeks
storage under room temperature (30 to 35°C).
Germination time varies from seven days to
three months. Germination rate, under good
conditions, varies between 30–75%.

Vegetative propagation
Trees can be grafted successfully using side cleft,
tongue cleft, top cleft and chip budding
techniques. Cuttings can be rooted successfully
and trees can be propagated vegetatively using
the air layering technique.

Guidelines for
conservation and use
Given the long-term decline in the numbers of
shea butter trees, especially in parklands, and
the age of trees found there, there is a need to

conserve the tree in situ and ex situ. This should
be done in a participatory manner involving
policy-makers, extension services and local
populations. Field genebanks should be
established.
Little genetic variation has been found
between populations. Much of the natural
genetic variation can be captured by sampling
intensively from a relatively small number of
populations. Populations for in situ conservation
or for collection for breeding purposes should be
chosen to cover a range of environments, with
special emphasis on sites that receive low
rainfall.
Conservation through sustainable use is a
viable option for shea butter tree, in combination
with other forms of conservation. Breeding
programmes that make the species more
attractive to farmers to plant and tend
would have the added benefit of conserving
valuable genetic resources. Phenotypic
variability observed for fruit size and
quantity indicates that breeding for these
characteristics could deliver considerable
improvement.

This leaflet was produced by
members of the SAFORGEN Food Tree
Species Working Group. The
objective of the working group is to
encourage collaboration among
experts and researchers in order to
promote sustainable use and
conservation of the valuable food
tree species of sub-Saharan Africa.